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Batman Is Still Off Limits To The Arrowverse, Even After Elseworlds

The “Elseworlds” crossover is proving to be a landmark event for the Arrowverse, as it’s featured the very first time that The CW’s shared DC universe has dived into the Batman mythology. That’s not for lack of wanting to, of course, as fans will probably know that any direct reference to the Dark Knight or his world was always off-limits to the shows’ production teams. However, with the introduction of Batwoman ahead of her own spinoff, those rules have been relaxed somewhat… but not entirely.

Caroline Dries, who wrote “Elseworlds Part 2,” the Arrow episode that welcomed Kate Kane into the franchise, revealed that traditionally, DC wouldn’t even let the word Batman be mentioned, so it was a giddy experience for the crew when they suddenly could do so.

“DC doesn’t let you say ‘Batman,’ [or] have anything about Gotham City, Now, all of a sudden, you can do stuff. For a bunch of geeks like us, you’re in heaven.”

Arrow showrunner Beth Schwartz, meanwhile, revealed that they’d tried so many times before now to lift the ban and it was a shock when they were finally able to play in the Bat-sandbox. “We tried, so many times,” she added. “It was kind of shocking.”

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So, everything’s good now, right? We’ll be seeing Batman show up on Batwoman like Superman occasionally does on Supergirl, yes? Well, no. Though Gotham City and some of its citizens are now fair game, the Caped Crusader himself is still a no-no. As Dries explained: “That’s the one where they cut you off.”

However, she’s hopeful that this will change and perhaps DC will relax their rules even more and hand them the keys to the Batmobile one day. “Slowly but surely,” Dries says. “We’ll just keep picking away at it.”

In “Elsewords Part 2,” it was unveiled that both Bruce Wayne and his alter-ego Batman have been missing from Gotham for three years. That’s a neat explanation for his absence from the Arrowverse, as it can easily be undone if DC suddenly feel charitable, but who knows if they’ll ever change their mind.